it is therapeutic music. >> and how is your love life? >> oh, my love life is great. >> you look a little bit starry eyed, is the man in your life making you happy? >> i do, he is a great man and loves me for me. he loves my daughter, my family -- >> where did you meet? >> we met at a studio, at a studio. he was managing a writer that i was working with at the time. and i was like oh, he is cute. >> and this is the one, you think? >> i think so i think so yes, i do. >> well, it is fantastic, it is so good to catch up with you. >> that is it? >> that is it, was there anything else you want to say? you want to talk about world affairs? >> no, we covered everything, brandy, it is called two eleven, a fantastic album, let's catch up again, lovely to see you. we begin tonight with

breaking news about your paycheck, your unemployment check, the defense job, the entire economy, you name it. all of it is at stake if the country goes over the fiscal cliff. it is a cliff that lawmakers built, they have set the tuesday deadline and knew it was coming for more than a year, but until now, even now they have done precious little to agree on taxes and spending cuts by that time. keeping them honest, the people in this building have known what is coming on tuesday, yet they're only returning to get to this building to get back to work just now. senators came back yesterday. house members? well, they wouldn't be back until sunday. this afternoon, house and senate leaders met with president obama at the white house. they talked for about an hour. afterwards president obama said he was modestly optimistic. by passing house speaker john boehner who has had trouble getting his fellow republicans to agree to anything, the president called on senate majority and minority leaders

harry reid and mitch mcconnell, to lay out a deal. >> if we don't see an agreement between the two leaders and the senate, i expect a bill to go on the floor. and i have asked senator reid to do this. put a bill on the floor that makes sure that taxes on middle class families don't go up. that unemployment insurance is still available for two million people. and that lays the ground work for deficit reduction and economic growth steps that we can take in the new year. but let's not miss this deadline. >> as for the leaders they sounded a bit more hopeful than the president. >> i think it was a very positive meeting. there was not a lot of hilarity in the meeting. everyone knows how important it is. it is a very serious meeting and it would take an extended period of time as you know, waiting for

us. >> i share the view of the majority leader. we had a good meeting down at the white house. we are engaged in discussions, the majority leader and myself and the white house, in the hopes that we can come forward as early as sunday and have a recommendation that i can make to my conference, and the majority leader can make to his conference. and so we'll be working hard to try to see if we can get there in the next 24 hours. and so i'm hopeful and optimistic. >> sounds good, but also sounds familiar, right? senator reid says a vote could happen on monday, but people have heard so much talk about the crisis but seen precious little action. the president tonight, echoing that frustration. >> the american people are watching what we do here. obviously, their patience is already thin. this is deja vu all over again. america wonders why it is in this town for some reason, you

can't get stuff done in an organized time table. why everything always has to wait until the last minute. well, we're now at the last minute. and the american people are not going to have any patience for a politically self-inflicted wound to our economy. >> but it remains to be seen whether lawmakers on both sides of the aisle get it. some even sounded miffed to have to work over the holiday. democratic senator charles schumer said i didn't realize how much i didn't want to be here until i got here. and telling the times, "this is no way to run things." and wall street agrees, the dow is losing more than 150 points ending the fifth straight day on the down side, joining us with the very latest, jessica, was any progress really made today? was there any move at all besides this being dropped in

the senate's lap? >> well, this is progress, i know it is hard to believe. but the fact that they left this meeting in agreement with the next step is a hopeful sign. the good news here is that this could have been much worse. they could have come out of the meeting saying it is impossible to reach an agreement, we cannot even begin negotiations. there will be no deal. that did not happen. and so the fact that they have a game plan for the weekend and for the next steps, it is better than a lot of people hoped for. so now everyone is holding their breath. >> yeah, i guess we have to be thankful for the little things, but how did we get here? we heard the president say today he is mildly optimistic. why? >> well, that optimism has to do with the fact it could have been worse. all the parties did get to a deal they would rather find a way out of this instead of going over the cliff. but the big picture as you said is how did we get here? and the problem is, what they're

fighting over. while it seems silly and petty right now is about the fundamental difference, the role of government in americans' lives. lower taxes versus more of a social safety net. and every time they come close to an agreement, it falls apart because they have a fundamentally different idea on the issues. they have this divide in america, randy. >> so what happens next? how likely is it that we'll go over the fiscal cliff? i'm curious about the mood in washington right now. >> there is an increase in optimism because of the mood out of that meeting today. but i still would say the people who are -- placing bets in this town still expect that the nation will go over the fiscal cliff. so still a little bit more hope than what we woke up this morning, but no one is counting on being off on new year's eve.

>> randy. >> jessica, thank you, more now on the raw politics, good to see you both. cornell, let me start with you here, the president said he wanted to see a straight up or down vote. as we mentioned that could happen in the senate. we could lose the up or down vote. >> you are going to see something come out of the senate. you have to pay attention to the tone, i think you will see something come out of the senate on up and down, but i think the problem comes on the house side, whether or not in fact speaker john boehner is going to allow what the senate sends their way to go on an up or down vote, without having a majority of the majority. >> and ross, this is what speaker boehner said he wants to push off to the senate. but nothing we saw today can

answer the big question. could house republicans now be ready to accept a compromise even if they don't like what is in it? >> i think a lot depends on what the democrats are willing to give at this point. and the democrats sort of have an interesting dilemma where it is sort of the bird in the hand issue, right? i think if you do have something come out of the senate where the tax threshhold goes up to $400,000, rather than 250,000, where there is some concession to democrats and republicans, i think there would be a lot of pressure on boehner to bring it to a vote and to have it pass again. it probably wouldn't pass with the majority of the majority. it would end up passing with a chunk of republicans, and a lot of democrats. but if the democrats just want to push things and say no, it is 250,000, i mean, that might not get out of the senate. and if it gets out of the senate i don't think it gets to the house. >> and cornell, let's back up

for a moment here, not going over the cliff is not that much of an achievement, is it? it is just avoiding the worst. so that is the least the sides can do, right? >> i think long-term it is more problematic, you have a side of congress that is completely dysfunctional, one side of the congress, the house of representatives, is not functional. and i think we're in the middle of a civil war on the republican side. i mean, when the speaker of the house puts out his bill and just moments later has to pull the bill back because his caucus is in full revolt. that says something, we're in the middle of the civil war, and the american people are going to be the collateral damage on what is on the republican side. until the speaker gets his act together, if he remains speaker, if in fact he has an up or down vote without the majority of the majority. >> and ross, speaking of the public, even if they manage to

avoid the worst here. the way this process has played out before us probably won't fill americans with a whole lot of hope for the next two years, will it? >> no, although in a sense, you can argue if they actually did pass something in the next 48 hours which seemed more likely than it did a day ago, if that happens you can argue well, the cliff worked as designed. because as people have said on cnn for days, this was something designed by congress to force congress's own hand. and so if something happens at the last minute it is a case of at least that part of the system works out. congress doing what it forced itself to do. i would also add, i think cornell is right about the probl problems facing republicans right now, which is that the incentives for each individual member of the house of representatives, every republican member, are in a sense to oppose president obama as strongly as possible. because most of them represent safe seats. where the big danger is where a primary challenge from the right. but the incentive for the party

as a whole is you know, look, the legislative landscape is tilted very strongly against republicans right now. taxes will go up in some sense, and for the long-term future of the party it is probably sort of better to retreat and find new ground to fight on. so you have the duali ining imperatives at work. and more breaking news coming up, a rare break on the senate side, actually getting something done, something that the hard-hit survivors of hurricane sandy are counting on. also, we'll tell you about the people who got the job of going after unethical lawmakers, and bipartisan efforts to those watch dogs, keeping them honest. e alli can help you lose one more by blocking some of the fat you eat. feels great. simple. effective. take that, 50 pound thingy.

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?o what's the rush? restore revive rejuvenate rebuild rebuild rebuild more breaking news now. the senate late tonight approving a $64 billion bill to rebuild after superstorm sandy. democrats beating back gop efforts to trim the price tag somewhat now, it goes to the house, but if both chambers fail to agree on a package before the current congressional term expires, then everyone will have to start again from scratch. keeping them honest, this has been the least productive congress in modern history. at last count, a little more than 200 bills enacted.

by comparison, the 80th congress, which then-president harry truman called the do-nothing congress, it managed to pass 906 bills into law. think about that as you watch the next report about one of the few things lawmakers seem to agree on, dismantling a little known office that's designed for one simple thing, keeping them honest. >> what is outrageous about it is you see members of congress on both sides saying they have zero tolerance for unethical conduct, but behind closed doors, they're quietly trying to kill the one body in congress that is trying to seriously go after unethical members. >> melanie sloan is director of c.r.e.w. or citizens for responsibility and ethics in washington. she's talking about the office of congressional ethics, the only government body outside of congress whose sole mandate is to formally investigate members inside congress, but many of the same members of congress want the oce gone.

>> the oce has forces members of congress to take ethics more seriously. it has forced the ethics committee to act and let all members of congress know they can't skate by like they have for so many years with unethical conduct going on. >> c.r.e.w. is considered by some to be left leaning and liberal, but they're not the only ones worried about the oce. >> one of your counterparts say members will go out and say they support the oce while privately they're trying to kill it. do you think that's true? >> yes. that is true. >> this man is chairman of the conservative right-leaning national legal and policy center. >> if oce goes away, if the members are not named, if it's not reauthorized, what message does that send to the public? >> it sends a message to the public that not only is the system broken, the ethics system broken, but it doesn't even exist anymore. >> the oce was formed just four years ago after scandals and

corruption had grown so bad, the house had to clean up its act. speaker nancy pelosi helped create the oce as a solution. in just four years they have done more than 100 investigations of lawmakers raising serious questions about possible congressional misdeeds. in 37 of those investigations, the oce referred them on to the actual house ethics committee for further review, meaning that in those 37 cases, the oce found reason to believe that house ethics and sometimes federal laws were likely violated. so why exactly does congress want to kill it? well, actually, that is hard to say folks like these who have in the past voted to cut the oce budget or limit its powers refused to talk to us. for those who would talk, opinions were mixed. >> i think it's important there be some way for the public, for someone outside of congress to raise issues about the conduct of members of congress. one of the things that -- is it oce, oce has sent to the ethics

committee was actually pretty flimsy. >> i supported it the first time, i'll support it again. >> i don't think it's working well. >> is there anything oce has done specifically that might have rubbed the congress the wrong way to the point where they wouldn't want to get it going again? >> well, in fact, nearly everything the oce does has rubbed the entire congress the wrong way. and in large part, that's because congress doesn't want to hold anybody accountable for ethics violations. >> former congressman lee hamilton is a respected member from indiana who served more than 30 years and helped chair the famous 9/11 commission. he says getting the new oce board members appointed is crucial to having ethics enforced in congress. >> whether or not you appoint the new members to the oce is a critical point. >> congressman hamilton is now the director of the center on congress at indiana university. >> and it is going to tell us whether the leaders of the congress are serious or whether

they're not serious about the enforcement of the standards of conduct within the institution. this is a critical test. >> so joe, who needs to do something to keep the oce going? >> well, let's see, the republican house speaker john boehner, the democratic minority leader, nancy pelosi, have to nominate new board members and approve one another's selections. both have said they're going to do it, but so far, there's been little movement on either side, randi. >> and when does the reauthorization of the board members need to get done? >> the terms of the outgoing board members expire on december 31st. for the oce to keep going, people need to be in place by the end of the year, which means congress needs to get going in the current lame-duck session. >> so in terms of how this works, though, the oce refers its investigations to the house ethics committee, right? some critics say the oce is an

unnecessary duplicate body, really. are they right? >> that's exactly right. oce is an outside nonpartisan group that investigates ethics allegations and reports those findings to the ethics committee, usually recommending either to look into the matter further or just drop the case. the reasons nancy pelosi pushed for it and the house voted to start it in 2008 was a feeling that congress essentially was not doing an effective job investigating itself. so in that sense, the oce serves an important function, but the oce doesn't have subpoena power, for example. and the congressional ethics committee doesn't need to act on its recommendations, which means investigations can often go nowhere, so when the house ethics committee doesn't follow up on oce investigations, some members of congress argue they have been unfairly targeted, their name is dragged through the mud, turning the oce into a villain. >> yeah, and what about the criticism that some members

criticize the oce for unfairly targeting african-americans. are they right? >> that is something that has been talked about again and again. and a lot of people have said the reason why so many african-americans' names get in the mix, because they're in such safe districts. so that it's not about race, it's more about the fact that they're in safe districts. still, that's the kind of story that deserves a complete treatment and we would just like to revisit all of that and air all of the questions in another report. >> joe johns, thank you very much. >> thank you, randi. the video is unforgettable. a tornado tearing through a walgreens store in alabama. tonight, we have new information from the national weather service about the christmas day twister outbreak. as many as 30 tornadoes reported from texas to alabama. [ nurse ] i'm a hospice nurse.

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zaid we want to make sure th world does not forget about someone who for more than a year has repeatedly risked his life by talking with us. tonight, he needs all of our good wishes. zaidoun, our voice of the syrian revolution, hasn't been seen since december 15th. that's when his family says the feared secret police came to his home and arrested him. they believe zaidoun and his brother are being held at the notorious building 215, a facility in damascus notorious for torture and abuse. all they know is someone in the same prison saw zaidoun and told

them he's okay. they got that word several days ago. it's not a lot, but it's something to hold on to. his cousin has created a facebook page to demand zaidoun and his brother's release in the hopes that someone inside the syrian regime would listen. he risked his life more than a dozen times by calling for interviews, using his real name, to expose the brutality of bashar al assad's regime. we want to make sure his voice is still being heard here is one where he's explaining why he's willing to die for the revolution. >> we're getting killed every moment. we are not even able to get some basic medicine to injured people. children are really hungry. you think we can stop? we go back, we will stop this revolution. if you want to stop this revolution, you have to kill 3 million, 4 million people. we might just face our death tomorrow morning or after a half

hour or get arrested and die under torture. but this doesn't mean we are going to retreat. this doesn't mean we're going to give up. we will stay, even if it takes us just another 10,000 people killed or 100,000 people killed. we will not stop. zaidoun's mother, sisters, two daughters, and his wife are all in syria right now. we hope they're safe tonight and we'll keep in touch as best we can. >> we're following other important stories, isha sesay joins us with a 360 bulletin. >> the 23-year-old rape victim indians call damini has died in a hospital. the attack, a vicious rape, happened on a bus. it sparked days of protest across india

six people have been arrested. nelson mandela's granddaughter has asked the public to stop spreading rumors that he's close to death. she calls them hurtful and insensitive she says the former south african president is doing well and is aware of what is being said about him. he had gallstone surgery earlier this month and is back home now. george h.w. bush's spokesman said he continues to improve and doctors are cautiously optimistic that his current course of treatment will be effective. he has been at methodist hospital for more than a month. he's been in intensive care since sunday. it's now confirmed that 15 tornadoes hit alabama alone on christmas, including the one shown here. it ripped through walgreens in mobile, a terrifying scene, as many as 30 twisters were reported from texas to alabama, on tuesday. incredible numbers. >> yeah, certainly. and that video is silent. imagine what that must have sounded like as that came roaring through.

isha, thank you very much coming up, a new jersey couple is supposed to pick up a child in russia in just a few weeks, but a new law banning adoption of russian children by american parents has them wondering if they will ever bring home the little boy they already consider their son. i speak with them next. questions? anyone have occasional constipation, diarrhea, gas, bloating? yeah. one phillips' colon health probiotic cap each day helps defend against these digestive issues with three strains of good bacteria. approved! [ female announcer ] live the regular life. phillips'.

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a new russian law has left some families in the united states devastated. wondering if they'll ever again see the children they have been working to adopt and bring home.

russian president vladimir putin today signed a controversial law that bans american families from adopting russian children. the law is seen as retaliation for a law president obama signed earlier this month, imposing restrictions on human rights abuse in russia they said, quote, the russian government's politically motivated decision will reduce adoption possibilities for children under institutional care. we're further concerned about statements that adoptions already under way would be stopped and hope the russian government would allow those children who have already met and bonded with their future parents to finish the necessary legal procedures so they can join their families. they say there are 46 children in russia whose adoptions are almost complete and those adoptions now could be in jeopardy, but the impact could be greater than that. hundreds of families are believed to be working with adoption agencies in russia.

robert and kim were supposed to pick up a child in russia in just a few weeks. they have already bonded with their son, preston. filled their house with toys and clothes for him, and already consider him their son. i spoke with them a short time ago. so kim, you have actually been to russia twice to visit preston. tell me what it was like the first time you met him and what he's like. >> i can't even begin to describe it. all i can say is, and all i kept saying was, i know how birth mothers feel when they first take that first look at their new baby. and that's exactly how i can compare it. and it was -- it was the most dreadful day in my life since my wedding. and i knew the second i laid eyes on him that this was the baby i was meant to carry. >> and robert, you have been unable to have children of your own together.

how long has this process, this adoption process, been going on for you? >> it's been going on for a little over two years. it was -- it was meant -- it was met by a long time of waiting, and my wife and i had some infertility issues, and we weren't able to have children of our own. and this is what led up to our adoption of preston. >> and kim, you were so confident that you would be bringing preston home that you actually have already bought plane tickets to pick him up next month, right? >> we were told, and this is a normal process. there's the 30-day wait. >> you never imagined anything like this would come in the middle. >> so much so that we stay with a host family when we're in russia.

and we were staying with mila, and we call her babuschka, which is grandma in russian, and we say can we leave the diaper bag here since we'll be back in four weeks? and preston's little outfit, i bought him a ski sweater and a turtleneck oncy to wear home, and she said, of course, you'll be back in four weeks. >> and robert, did he understand, were you able to tell him you were going to be his parents, that he would be coming home with you? >> yes, and it was quite evident because the last trip that we made to russia, right after the court date, we looked at him and said we are taking you to the united states of america. and -- >> we're going to be a forever family. >> and i have to tell you, his eyes lit up, our eyes lit up. and we hugged him and we kissed him and told him how much we loved him. but he is such a wonderful young boy, and to see him and to just

feel him and to hold him and smell him, he's -- >> smell him, that's all i kept saying on the trip back to see him again. and adopt him officially, i kept saying to robert, all i want to do is smell him and touch his skin. >> so you had this call with the state department today with many of these other families who are in the same predicament you are. is there any hope at all? can they help? >> well, we can't lose hope. we have to believe. >> what do they say? >> unfortunately, at the moment, there are 46 families at different stages of the process. there's 500 to 1,000 families right now that are in the russian programs of adoption. but 46 of our families have gotten to the point of the adoption as we have. right now, there are some

families that are in the country that have already -- they have their children's passports and visas in their hands, and they need to leave the country before january 1st. so the state department obviously is most concerned, if you will, for those people getting them out of the country with their children. >> i can't imagine how difficult this must be for you. having him coming so close to now, you probably have prepared at home and -- >> his stroller is in our dining room. >> is there a room set up? >> yes, there is. his crib is next to our bed. we wanted him that close. because we knew we would be dealing with some bonding issues. >> sure. >> and we want him that close. >> are you at all worried that he will think that you forgot about him? >> yes. i do believe that.

and if i have to spend the rest of my life to bring him home, i will do so. and i will keep, keep fighting the fight. i will walk the walk. and we won't stop until he comes home to us. >> no matter how long it takes. >> no matter how long. >> absolutely. we promised him we were going to be his mommy and daddy. >> we promised him a life of love and trust. >> and we're older parents, and we know that, and we're established. and we have a beautiful home. his college is already saved for him. the judge asked me before she granted us the adoption, she asked me, mrs. summers, through a translator, what are your dreams for your child. and i said my dream is that he will be a wonderfully established, well-adjusted, loving human being, and also cure cancer or perhaps play the

cello, graduate from juliard school of music, and the translator was translating this, and the judge looked at me with mrs. summers, we all wish for that for our children. >> we are so sorry for you and we hope you one day do get to bring preston home to your home. >> thank you. >> dr. jane aronson is a pediatrician and international adoption specialist. she is the founder and ceo of worldwide orphan's organization and she joins me now. tough interview, certainly for these families to see what they're going through. i see you're even emotional having watched that just now. what do you make of what's going on here? what do you make of this bill, and what do you think is the motivation behind it? >> i think it's very simple. this is a retaliation, a political maneuver. the russian and american relationships, the relationship between america and russia is in

a disaster relationship at this point, but what's really important is first to focus on what we can do to advocate for the families because there are hundreds of families invved, and this is something that has been part of russian adoptions for 25 years. as long as russian adoption has been around, it's been a problem that at any one point, there have been mortoria, weeks, months where there was an unpredictable path for families and lots of families lost their children. >> this isn't the first time, but do you think it's about this law our administration here, the obama administration signed in? >> i think it's not just that. this is an acute moment. this is where they're just going to make a stand a long time in coming. what's interesting is if you look in the last seven weeks, the bilateral agreement for international adoption between russia and the united states was signed on november 1st. >> now that's null and void.

>> so it's clear in the last seven weeks, this has to do with a political situation. >> you would think, though, given the horrible conditions there in the orphanages and the numbers of orphans who need homes, this is something russia would want, they would welcome americans to come in and adopt, no? >> no. >> why not? >> it's a great comment you're making. this is something that i think no one pays attention to. this is not just about russia. this is about the orphan crisis. this is about 153 million children who live in terrible conditions in many countries where governments really do not stop and sit at a table and think strategically about what to do with hundreds of millions of children. they're too busy taking care of other things like conflict and war. this is a moment where i feel it's really important for people to understand clearly that no one sits and thinks about orphans in the long range scheme of things. and so, you know, to talk about the bad conditions, well, bad conditions are everywhere.

i traveled to romania, russia, bulgaria, i spent the last god knows how many years working in orphanages trying to support kids, and the conditions kids live in is intolerable, and it doesn't change. russia is horrific. it's the worst kind of conditions you can possibly imagine. >> as you mentioned, american families have been stopped before from trying to adopt russian children. >> many times are you hopeful this will turn around? >> i'm always hopeful, and i think that the summers are such beautiful people. there are families who are still parenting their children from a distance from many countries, whether it's guatemala, tibet, colombia, whatever country, china, vietnam, cambodia, if you look back in the history, as i said, i have been involved in this for decades, you will see many families never give up on their children even if they're

held hostage by the country. >> that's what robert said, he will not give up. what do they see when these families go? it strikes a chord with them. they see how the children are living. you say terrible, but take us inside and tell us what they see. >> the first thing you do, i have my eyes closed and can go back to any orphanage and you experience the silence. there's this deafening silence and there are these bad smells. then there's just these empty -- these empty rooms filled with cribs with silent children. kids who lie for hours, languishing. >> alone. >> alone, untouched, fed by bottle propping. often speed fed so they choke, they lie in their own feces and urine, they stink, they're untouchable, and the people who work there are not professionally trained so they don't want to be near the kids. a lot of kids have underlying medical conditions, and there

are no physicians who come in and qualify or quantify what their issues are, so they don't get that medical intervention, and we go by a rule of thumb. three months in an orphanage, you lose a month of development. you end up with organic brain injury you end up with malnutrition, growth stunting, and attachment issues. >> so sad. horrible for a child. >> tragic. >> and to not get any love and any affection. >> it is tragic so what is your advice then to american families who might already be in the process, might already have their children identified, might already be there in russia? >> you can't give up hope. it's very simple, you cannot give up hope and you have to advocate. what's going on now, parents are gathering together, signing petitions. that's what you have to do. you cannot let them. >> jane aronson, so nice to see you. >> thank you. up next, new details on the new winter storm expected to hit just in time for the holiday weekend.

or you could watch the earnings report and take notes, like we're supposed to. so... can i get it? yeah. okay either of you put together the earnings report yet? yes, me totally. what? why don't you tackle the next quarter. you eat yet? polynesian? pu pu platter? yup! keep up the good work. i will keep up the good work. do more with the new samsung galaxy note ii. welcome to chevy's year-end event. so, the 5.3-liter v8 silverado can tow up to 9,600 pounds? 315 horsepower. what's that in reindeer-power? [ laughs ] [ pencil scratches ] [ male announcer ] chevy's giving more. get the best offer of the year -- 0% apr financing for 60 months plus $1,000 holiday bonus cash. plus trade up for an additional $1,000 trade-in allowance. hurry. bonus cash ends january 2nd.

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[ male announcer ] when diarrhea hits, kaopectate stops it fast. powerful liquid relief speeds to the source. fast. [ male announcer ] stop the uh-oh fast with kaopectate. more winter weather on the way, the forecast is in the south, will hit the northeast tomorrow, and a fresh storm is expected to push into the ohio valley, freezing rain is threatening parts of texas, missouri, and tennessee, and ice could bring down power lines in oklahoma and arkansas. authorities say this week's nasty weather has killed ten people. and leaders of new faith with an

inter faith vigil today. two weeks after the massacre in newtown, connecticut, they gathered to pray for hope and help for the families of the victims. and william spengler, the man who ambushed and killed two firefighters, they fought the blaze he is suspected of starting. and they found two guns at the scene and dawn nguyen is now in custody. and an 11-year-old dog walked off and fell through the ice, the rescue crews responded. the dog was cold, but animal control workers say he did not appear seriously hurt. randi? >> well, you want to stick around for this, i know you want to be with anderson and kathy griffin in new york city, at times square. they're teaming up for the sixth

year running, i think you can agree they have a special chemistry. >> i said to cnn six months ago, i said look, i want the most famous woman from "bravo," i think they thought i was referring to you. >> right, you can't meet the rate -- can i just say this is what i love about our broadcast? and apparently you're proud -- of it. i love this year, you're not even trying. ryan seacrest -- we're going to nashville? >> we have honey boo boo, she is joining us, staying up late. >> oh, what a coup? you couldn't even get my mom, and you got honey boo boo, and can she read a tele prompter? would you like to tell the viewers the incredibly exciting

places we're going? tokyo, london. >> we're going to show new year's eve celebrations from around the world, we're going to showdown in florida, nashville, key west, maine. >> well -- you couldn't get tulsa? new orleans, nashville and maine, that is where we're going? >> a reflection of the united states, but also around the world, london, tokyo. >> but we don't even have people in london and rio, we just kind of steal footage. >> no, no, we have people, but it happens from the hour before us, we have them record something and just put it in our show. >> if you could, would you pre-record this whole show and just go home early? >> yes, i could, if i could record it in a sound booth and you be in another sound booth, not actually be able to touch me, that would be okay. >> oh, because you can talk more? all right, look, let's just cut

to the chase, no, no, we're not done. is nancy grace going to come to the show or not? >> i don't know, she is already busy with the twins. >> i love the twins, john david and lucy, all right, let's call jane velez-mitchell, i don't know if you know, she is recovering, let's face it "hln" is what is happening, nancy grace -- she has a very sensible barrette for her hair, she is working a new look. >> i did not know that. >> yes, how can you not know about nancy grace's barrette, of everybody is talking about it, that will be in number one story. >> kathy griffin, starting an hour earlier this year, at 10 p.m., at 10:30.

>> and you and i, how many days will we just rehearse? >> that would be zero, just the magic of live tv. >> remember, you don't need to know everything. >> thanks kathy. >> good-bye. >> and there will be plenty more of that magic on monday, cnn's new year's eve live with anderson cooper and kathy griffin starts at 10:00 p.m. eastern, this year at times square, and we're counting down the ridiculous, we're wrapping down number six, a festive story, what else, a strip club? coming up next. really? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus fights your worst cold symptoms, plus it relieves your runny nose. [ breathes deeply ] awesome. [ male announcer ] yes, it is. that's the cold truth! aww man. [ male announcer ] returns are easy with free pickup from the u.s. postal service. we'll even drop off boxes if you need them. visit usps.com pay, print, and have it picked up for free.

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we have been counting down the top ten ridiculists of the year based on your vote. tonight, we're at number six. this is from a few weeks ago when anderson told us about a rather unique approach to a holiday toy drive. take a look >> time for the ridiculist. don't you love this time of year, the trees, the lights, the party. nothing says happy holidays quite as much as a strip club in arkansas. >> we're having a campaign for the month of december called toys for tatas. you come in and bring a toy to donate for our little toy drive we're having. we're going to give you two for one lap dances for as many toys as you bring. >> isn't that sweet? the fine folks of the platinum cafe are putting the pole back in the north pole for christmas. ho, ho, ho, everybody

it's a two for one lap dance. i'll never think of dancer, prancer, and vixen in the same way. don't get me wrong, this is for a great cause, toys for tots, which collects gifts for under privileged kids although the local coordinator said the strip club didn't exactly run the idea by him. >> i really knew nothing about it. it's certainly not something we had been made aware of or something we would have endorsed. as long as it's done in a legal manner and as long as people are bringing us new, unwrapped toys, we don't get into how they were gathered and what the process was >> what the process was. we did a little checking. believe it or not, the content of toys for tatas not confined to the fayetteville area. there's one in scottsdale, arizona, where there's also giving away a breast augmentation because there's nothing like surgery to really get you in the holiday mood. and in minneapolis, they just had their 13th toys for